I have tried really hard to work WITH my gp, trying things he has suggested.

My T3 has always been about 3.5 (3-6) and that only gets tested because my TSH is 0.05 and so 'out of range'. The gp himself said that as my T4 has gone up my t3 has gone down. I did query whether I might have a conversion problem but got no response!

In a full blood count I found my B12 was 284(190-900) but again it was 'in range'. I did persuade the doc to give me B12 but I got cyanocobalamin and only 50mcg (yes - mcg!)

It was suggested on here that that dose would do no good within my lifetime so I decided to self medicate with Jarrow 5000mcg sublingual. I have been taking those now for 7 weeks and feel sooooo much better. I had a blood test last Friday and collected my results today. My B12 is now 1600 - yippee. I'll finish the 5000 and then keep taking the 1000 as many have suggested is a good way to go.

My T3 today was still low at 3.9(3-6) and I KNOW the doc won't do anything about that so, it's back to self medicating. My query is, how do I decide whether to try T3 or NDT.

6 Replies

Adding t3 to levothyroxine worked for me too... But was a bit of a bumpy ride, was either elated ot glum....... I stuck it for a few years, and then changed to ndt..... Much more even, no multidosing...... And much cheaper.... i pay under £100 a year for 3 grains a day of thiroyd.

I wouldnT rush to go back to liothyronine, but i do know I can survive on it.....

T3 has changed my life. I started on it in December and after struggling with chronic fatigue for over 20 years I now have vitality and zest for life. I realise it doesn't suit everyone but don't rule it out. I take 10mcg of T3 and 50 mcg of levo

I take NDT after reacting to the T3. My feeling is that if you get on with NDT it's better because a)it contains T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. No-one knows what T1 and T2 do, but they probably do something. And calcitonin protects bones, b) it doesn't require divided doses through the day c) it's cheaper.

As your TSH is so low there is absolutely no point in taking anything that has T4 in it as it simply will not convert to T3 because your TSH is so low. My TSH was about the same and I was so ill on a combination of T3 and T4 that I developed chronic myxoedema and I came very close to dropping into a coma. Eventually I discovered that TSH governs the control of the conversion of T4 to either Reverse T3 if the TSH is low or T3 if the TSH is in the more "normal" range. I went onto just T3 medication, to the disgust of the Endo I was seeing and have never looked back since. Paul Robinsons book Recovering with T3 is a life saver packed with lots of info which is particularly useful for those of us with a low or zero TSH.